Ariel Woods, a senior nursing major from Oakland, was one of six recipients of the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Foundation’s $10,000 BlueCross Power of We Health Equity Scholarship, as announced by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee on Sept. 19.
Woods said she prepared a video of application for the scholarship and had a panel of interviews for those who were selected to that level of the process.
“Once the application was submitted, I did an online interview with about 10 people asking me a series of questions, and I shared my experiences and elaborated on my application,” she said. “I also asked them questions about the scholarship.”
Woods said she will put the scholarship to good use.
“I will use it to finish paying for my last year of undergrad, for my BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing),” she said. “I will use the rest of it to go back to school to become a nurse practitioner.
“And then, finally, I will go back to school to get my doctorate of nursing degree and become a nursing professor.”
Woods said she would be interested in teaching about labor and delivery. She said she decided to go into nursing through life experiences.
“One thing was whenever I would go to the doctor, I would enjoy it,” she said. “I think it was because of the nurses at my doctor’s office. They were always friendly and nice.
“Also, my mom. Whenever I was sick – and, even to this day – I would go to her and she would find comfort measures for me. As a nurse, you can’t always prescribe medicines for certain things, so a big part of nursing is finding a comfort measure to provide to people. My mom would do that for me, and I want to be able to do that for other people.”
Woods said her interest in labor and delivery came from her learning of the high morbidity and mortality rate among Black mothers and babies.
“There is no explanation for it,” she said. “People have done research on it, and there is still no answer for that. So, I want to be part of the call to decrease that number, find interventions to put together and potentially eliminate it from occurring.
“Everyone should have the best health care available to them, whether they are white, Black, Asian – whatever the race. They should have the best health care.”
Over the last two summers, Woods has gained work experience at Regional One Health hospital in Memphis as a nurse extern.
“Last summer (2023), I was on the oncology floor, and this past summer, I was in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit),” she said. “I loved it. I know that it’s not all fun because, at the end of the day, the babies are in critical condition, but being able to see some of them grow and be able to live life without all these medications or needing oxygen – I love that.
“As a nurse extern, I would provide care like checking vital signs, perform assessments on the babies and feed them, all under the supervision of a nurse.”
Woods will graduate from UT Martin in May. She is the president of her nursing class – a position elected by her peers – and a member of the UT Martin chapter of the National Student Nursing Association. She was admitted to the Sigma Theta Tau international honor society of nursing.
She said she was amazed that she earned the scholarship.
“They told me that they had 106 applications,” she said. “Before I even applied, I thought, ‘I’m not going to be one of the six students in the whole state.’ I just didn’t think it was possible.
“I was so happy (to learn that I won) because I doubted myself, and I wasn’t even going to apply for it. Now, I know it doesn’t matter what I think. Sometimes, I underestimate my capabilities, so this just shows I’m better than I think I am sometimes, and I can do it.”
Dr. Mary Radford, professor of nursing and the chair of the Department of Nursing, praised Woods for her abilities.
“Ariel is an excellent student,” she said. “She is top-of-the-class. She’s professional, she’s a leader, she is their class president. She’s just been a good leader from the whole time since she started this program.
“If there is somebody in her class who is struggling, she’ll be the first one to try to help them: to set up a study group for them, to send a GroupMe message out with helpful links or helpful tips. She is truly one of the top students we have had in our program.”
Radford said that Woods’ work to help others in her classes shows the heart to become a teacher.
“She’s got the skills, for sure,” she said. “I consider her to be like a peer mentor with her classmates, but that would easily apply to education.
“She’s such a strong clinical nurse. She works as a nurse extern at Regional One Health in Memphis, so she has those clinical skills that are so strong. I know that she’s going to be an awesome nurse within the next seven or eight months now. If she decides to go into education, she will definitely be an excellent instructor.”
Since 2013, the BlueCross Foundation has awarded $475,000 in scholarships to 50 students. The BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Foundation funds the BlueCross Power of We Health Equity Scholarship, providing six $10,000 awards each year to students who are committed to improving health equity statewide.
PHOTO: Ariel Woods, a senior nursing major from Oakland, was one of six students to receive the $10,000 BlueCross Power of We Health Equity Scholarship. She plans to earn a doctorate degree and become an instructor.
